The invention concerns a stick handle for an ice hockey stick or for a stick intended for a game of similar type. The handle comprises an oblong core part of a substantially rectangular section as well as at least one oblong cover plate fitted on at least one side of the core part and/or a coating band or a coating that surrounds the handle substantially.
In the game of ice hockey, the stick is subjected to very high strains, and, therefore, it has been an aim to make the handle of the ice hockey stick as strong and durable as possible. Traditionally the handles of ice hockey sticks were made of wood so that the handle was made of solid wood and formed as one piece. From this the stick handle was developed further, and, in an attempt to achieve high strength, handles were also produced that were made of a number of wood veneers glued together, of laminated wood board, or equivalent. Later, the stick handle started being coated with a laminate, in particular with fiberglass laminate, which was either glued onto the handle face or wound directly onto the wooden handle. In order to make the laminate adhere to the handle better, very shallow grooves were formed into the face of a smooth handle, which grooves were filled with the coating, such as fiberglass laminate, during the coating process.
A second important and desirable property of ice hockey sticks is to have the weight of the handle be as low as possible while, nevertheless, not reducing the strength. In an attempt to achieve low weight, stick handles were made hollow and tubular, and materials that were used included, for example, aluminum or some high-strength composite material suitable for the purpose. In some cases, this hollow handle was further filled with a foamy material, such as polyurethane or equivalent. Also in the cases of wooden handles, a weight as low as possible was aimed at, in which case the wooden handle was made of several parts so that an oblong cavity space remained in the handle. One such handle of an ice hockey stick has been described in, for example, Canadian Patent No. 1,180,728.